Metro Manila vs. Citylights

Both movies are very similar. The makers of Citylights give credit to Metro Manila (MM) and acknowledge that their movie is inspired by MM. However, the story is slightly different.

I watched Citylights first and like always, was impressed by the acting of Rajkumar Yadav (still not calling him Rao). In fact the entire cast has done great work. It is a depressing story about a simpleton from a small town in Rajasthan coming to Mumbai with his family in hope of a better and successful life. And then he runs into bad luck.

I was so moved by the movie that I immediately decided to watch Metro Manila. Most of the scenes and dialogues are same. The 'flavor' was of course different. Some of the challenges encountered by the families (in Citylights and Metro Manila) are also different. However, the plot is exactly the same. And so is the ending.

However, the situation in which the protagonists in these movies found themselves after an incident were slightly different. While the protagonist in Citylights was almost forced to choose a path that he ultimately took, it seemed that the protagonist in MM had an escape route. Tiny one but could have avoided the end. His boss was helpful, he did not run out of money. He could have made a different choice. However, another way to look at it is that he took the step in hope of giving his family much more than he could ever have.

Both the movies are great but I liked Metro Manila better than City Lights.